What dollar figure should I set for any issues with the property for the PM Manager just to deal wth (i.e maintenance issues, under $300?)

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It really depends on you and how hands on you want to be with your investing. It also depends in how many properties and what sorta buffer you have in place. The reason I say this is because if your budget is low, its best to keep your eyes open in terms of expenditure going on. Perhaps put a lower one to start with and move it up as your budget / confidence grows.

I've had clients put $0 , ie seek their approval every time and the other end , ie never need to. I still like to send an email anyway to keep people in the loop.

You legally can't deny tenants repair requests anyway, but being aware of what is going on helps you better prepare.

The reasons for this are 2 fold :
1) majority of people have them, so excluding them limits your potential tenant pool and as a result property can take longer to rent ,
2) majority of people disallow them, so if you have a good tenant with pets chances are they'll stay longer and a longer tenancy benefits everyone involved.

TobyTom said:

Number of Permitted tenants in the property?

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Depends entirely on the property. Eg how many would you have in a 1 bed unit? 1-2. How many would you have in a 3 bed house? 4 maybe.

It really depends on you and how hands on you want to be with your investing. It also depends in how many properties and what sorta buffer you have in place. The reason I say this is because if your budget is low, its best to keep your eyes open in terms of expenditure going on. Perhaps put a lower one to start with and move it up as your budget / confidence grows.

I've had clients put $0 , ie seek their approval every time and the other end , ie never need to. I still like to send an email anyway to keep people in the loop.

You legally can't deny tenants repair requests anyway, but being aware of what is going on helps you better prepare.

Let the PM pay all of them if they don't charge any extra to do this. Some do

Alternatively, some people like using their own credit card (for rewards points), or offset accounts cleverly. In this case handle the bills yourself.

I like allowing pets, depending on the type of property.

The reasons for this are 2 fold :
1) majority of people have them, so excluding them limits your potential tenant pool and as a result property can take longer to rent ,
2) majority of people disallow them, so if you have a good tenant with pets chances are they'll stay longer and a longer tenancy benefits everyone involved.

Depends entirely on the property. Eg how many would you have in a 1 bed unit? 1-2. How many would you have in a 3 bed house? 4 maybe.

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What he said - awesome.

Also keep in mind that maintenance is the number one reason that good tenants leave. Vacancies can cost more than maintenance.

If you trust your pm to do the right thing, then giving them the authority to take care of whatever needs to be taken care of will work in your favour.

A good pm should always have your back and add value to your investment.

On our Sydney properties we have $0 as hubby can often fix minor things. If we are away we will OK a callout if necessary. Some agents are great and think about costs while others just call out tradies without thinking about the cost to you.
I used to pay rates, water and BC but now get the agents to do it all as it got to be too time consuming after our portfolio grew.
I have one account with each bank that rents go into and interest and bills come out and they now look after themselves.

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